12 LAW-ENFORCEMENT EQUIPMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
Figure 2.5. US- (left) and Taiwanese- (right) manufactured projectile electric-shock
devices
Sources: Robin Ballantyne/Omega Research Foundation.
tract, which disappear within a short time following the termination of
exposure. Often referred to as tear gas or pepper spray, the most common
chemicals used are: chloroacetophenone (CN), Dibenzo(b,f)-1,4-oxazepine
(CR) and o-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS) for tear gas; and oleoresin
capsicum (OC) and pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA) for pepper spray.
N-nonanoylmorpholine (MPK/MPA) is used as an irritant agent in selfdefence/law-enforcement sprays manufactured in Russia and Ukraine and is
often mixed with CS or CR.
Riot control agents are commonly delivered through hand-held sprays,
larger sprayer systems and hand-thrown grenades, or launched from different
types of weapon such as shotguns or rifles. The use of shotguns and single- or
multiple-shot launchers to deliver riot control agents has been documented
across Central Asia and the South Caucasus. A video from protests in 2010
shows Kyrgyz police officers loading single-shot grenade launchers with blue
tear-gas canisters visually similar to those manufactured in China.20 In
Azerbaijan, reports about protests in 2013 indicate the use of Israeli-made tear
gas.21 Images posted online of the ADEX 2014 trade event in Baku appear to
show an Israeli company marketing a vehicle-mounted multiple-launcher
system (see figure 2.6).22
There are a number of medical implications resulting from the deployment
of riot control agents. Unintended effects include contact dermatitis, skin
20 Trilling, D., ‘Protesters clash with security police in Bishkek’, EurasiaNet, 6 Apr. 2010,
<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/60896>. The canisters held by the officers look visually similar to
those manufactured by the 9604 Factory in Xiangfan City, Hubei Province, China.
21 Kazimova, A. and Sindelar, D., ‘Brutal police crackdowns in Azerbaijan, courtesy of Westernmade weapons’, Radio Free Europe, 13 Mar. 2013, <http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan-brutalcrackdown-western-weapons-lrad/24927720.html>.
22 RP Defense, Salon ADEX 2014 – Bakou Expo Center, 26 Sep. 2014, <http://rpdefense.overblog.com/2014/10/salon-adex-2014-bakou-expo-center.html>.
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